Biology
You’ll find Hastings College Biology graduates working for the Center for Disease Control (CDC), publishing articles in journals, teaching at all levels, researching breast cancer and serving as doctors, dentists, veterinarians and health professionals all across the U.S.
Grow through challenging, valuable work
In our state-of-the-art facilities, you’ll develop skills so you will excel in biology careers. These skills include:
- Understanding how external factors affect organisms
- Utilize varied methods of research to gather data
- Having a keen sense of accuracy and attention to detail
- Communicate effectively with your peers to share findings
We invest in your potential for success wherever your Biology degree takes you, from medical school to graduate school or the workplace.
Go further with a Hastings education
At Hastings, you’ll immerse yourself in original scientific works while collaborating with professors and other students on unique research. As part of your senior seminar, you’ll present your research and demonstrate what you’ve discovered. Recent seminar topics included how teeth whitening products affect cells, what the increased production of switchgrass for biofuels may mean for the environment and what impact chronic exposure to radiation from high voltage power lines has on rodents.
Thanks to our small class sizes (most have fewer than 20 students!), and a student-to-faculty ratio of 13:1, you’ll work closely with faculty and your advisor to complete your degree in four years. In fact, most students who graduate from Hastings do so in four years!
Our block-style semester structure means you’ll take just one or two classes at a time — which really lets you focus more intently on each class. It also lets faculty devote more time to every student because they’re only teaching one or two classes in a block!
Create your future
See for yourself how we tailor your education to your talents and your goals. Schedule a visit and we’ll demonstrate how Hastings will inspire you to reach your potential, or if you’re a high school senior, apply today.
Graduate with experience
At Hastings College, Biology majors serve one and sometimes two internships. Some expand their understanding of the world by studying abroad. Many take advantage of additional experiences, such as partnering with a professor on a research project, and insights that inform and advance career options. Every biology major completes a research presentation to demonstrate what you’ve discovered. What does all this mean? You’ll graduate from Hastings ready to succeed.
At every step in your path, you’ll appreciate the stepping stones of teaching, counseling, inspiring, supporting and guiding from our engaged faculty. It’s an experience that’s true to Hastings College, and you won’t find it anywhere else.
Your experience matters
![Biology 3 Performance icon](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/Performance_icon-150x150.png)
Maximize scholarships — Yes, you’ll get an academic scholarship. But you’ll also get a “plus one” scholarship from the group, team or area you’re part of. It’s a great way to help pay for school — but also to find your people.
![Biology 4 FourYearPlan 23](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/FourYearPlan_23-150x150.png)
We’ve thought a lot about the ways students learn and built a four-year plan to help you navigate it all. From finding your place and in Year 1, to showing the world you’re ready for what’s next four years later.
![Biology 5 YourExperienceMatters 23](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/YourExperienceMatters_23-150x150.png)
Your transition from college to a career begins your first semester. Every class, internship, research study and activity adds up. We love to celebrate all the ways you shine — your experience matters!
Get involved beyond the Biology classroom
- Beta Beta Beta (Biology honor society)
- Alpha Chi (Academic honor society)
In addition to these biology-related groups, there’s always something to do at Hastings. Student clubs, service learning, Greek life, recreation and more make Hastings a great campus for student life.
Find scholarships for Biology majors
Your high school achievements can both fuel and fund your success at Hastings. We offer a range of generous and renewable academic scholarships based on your GPA. Then there’s “plus one” scholarships — an additional scholarship for participating in anything from athletics to the arts to media (it’s a long list!).
It all adds up to making Hastings an great choice for you and your family.
First employers for recent graduates
- Proctor and Gamble
- Mary Lanning Healthcare
- Rydell National Wildlife Refuge
- Great Lakes Research Center
- U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
- Boulder Community Health
- Plus…many graduates are in medical, dental, physical therapy and other professional programs and grad schools!
Faculty
![Biology 6 JasonCarbaugh](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/JasonCarbaugh-300x300.png)
Dr. Jason Carbaugh
Assistant Professor of Biology
![Biology 7 RhesaLedbetter](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/RhesaLedbetter-300x300.png)
Dr. Rhesa Ledbetter
Assistant Professor of Biology
![Biology 8 BrieMyre](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/BrieMyre-300x300.png)
Dr. Brie Myre
Assistant Professor of Biology
![Biology 9 Amanda Solem](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/Amanda_Solem-300x300.png)
Dr. Amanda Solem
Associate Professor of Biology
Success in Biology
![BillBeachly-24a During an aquatic ecology trip to the Ozarks last August, Dr. Bill Beachly caught a snake – it’s not a venomous but a rare pigmentation called agouti.](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/BillBeachly-24a-qo5pjysnbz0ydpf017mf4azpqsid8em6s4pkkuo1c0.jpg)
Dr. Bill Beachly believes the best learning happens not in lectures but on adventures, which is why in nearly three decades as a Hastings College wildlife biology professor, he’s taken...
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Coming from two different eras at Hastings College, Eric Johnson ’97 and Cora Lanter 05’ share something in common: they both aim to continuously build and shape the culture at...
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A standard barbell is just over 7 feet of chrome-plated steel weighing 45 pounds. Load it with iron, rubber or polyurethane plates, and a curious transformation happens. It becomes a...
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Emma Enochs, of Lebanon, Kansas, came to Hastings College and double majored in biology and music. While she recognizes it is an odd combination and difficult to do, she says...
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Kyle Weber, a 2017 Hastings College graduate, was promoted earlier this year to senior ranger at Chatfield State Park in Littleton, Colorado. Weber has been working for Colorado Parks and...
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The personal connections students make through Hastings College and the greater Hastings community play a critical role in student success — that’s one of the most important lessons Holly Bosley,...
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The denizens of Nature’s Educators, a nonprofit animal sanctuary and education center founded by Hastings College alumna Devin (Paszek) Jaffe ‘09 in Sedalia, Colorado, are a wild bunch with poignant...
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Two Hastings College junior wildlife biology majors devoted their summer to spending time with animals and gaining experience in the field. Ian DeBoer interned for Lincoln’s Children’s Zoo and Zac...
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When Hastings College junior Anya Myers studied abroad at Dundee University in Scotland for the spring semester, she stumbled upon and joined a Medieval Reenactment Society, a club whose members...
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![BillBeachly-24a During an aquatic ecology trip to the Ozarks last August, Dr. Bill Beachly caught a snake – it’s not a venomous but a rare pigmentation called agouti.](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/BillBeachly-24a-qo5pjysnbz0ydpf017mf4azpqsid8em6s4pkkuo1c0.jpg)
![BillBeachly-24a During an aquatic ecology trip to the Ozarks last August, Dr. Bill Beachly caught a snake – it’s not a venomous but a rare pigmentation called agouti.](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/BillBeachly-24a-qo5pjysnbz0ydpf017mf4azpqsid8em6s4pkkuo1c0.jpg)
Dr. Bill Beachly believes the best learning happens not in lectures but on adventures, which is why in nearly three decades as a Hastings College wildlife biology professor, he’s taken...
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![KassRempp_24w1 Dr. Kass Rempp hiking in the Black Hills in South Dakota. She and her husband Barry will have more time to hike there in the future since that's where they'll live after Kass retires.](https://www.hastings.edu/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/KassRempp_24w1-qnyvgkizwr6id26moosv0xyb7vchthfde6ukuykzi8.jpg)
Teachers have the most incredible job. The future of the world walks through their doors — doctors and politicians, farmers and business people, bankers and truck drivers — and a...
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Karl Ludwig chose Hastings College because he liked the one-on-one learning opportunities. Ludwig said music faculty work to make sure students like him have chances to hone their skills. Hastings...
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A standout vocal performer during her years at Hastings College, Dr. Maggie Koozer ’06 was a soloist in productions of Handel’s “Messiah” and Mozart’s “Requiem,” the female lead in the...